Emily Awino Onyango is a Kenyan priest who became the first female

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in the

Anglican Church of Kenya The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is a province of the Anglican Communion, and it is composed by 41 dioceses. The current Leader and Archbishop of Kenya is Jackson Ole Sapit. The Anglican Church of Kenya claims 5 million total members. Accordin ...

in January 2021. Prior to becoming a bishop, she taught theology at St. Paul's University in Limaru, Kenya. She attended the founding conference for the

Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians is a pan-African ecumenical organization that supports scholarly research of African women theologians. The Circle mentors the next generation of African women theologians throughout their academi ...

in Ghana in 1989, and is a member of the Kenyan chapter of the Circle.

Early life and education

Onyango was born into a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

family. Onyango has a Bachelor of Divinity from Saint Paul's United Theological College in

Limuru Limuru is a town in central Kenya. It serves as both a parliamentary constituency and an administrative division. As of 2004, the town's population was approximately 4,800, which significantly increased to 159,314 by the 2019 census. Location Li ...

(1983) and a Master's degree from the Asian Centre of Theological Studies. She completed a PhD in history from the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

in 2006, where she worked under John M. Lonsdale on the history of women's education in Kenya. Her thesis was titled "Luo women's negotiation of mission education : a critical analysis of Anglican women in Nyanza, Kenya from 1895". She also has a certificate in ecumenism from the Ecumenical Institute of Graduate Studies in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Career

Onyango was a lay reader at St Stephen's Cathedral in

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...

before being appointed as a deacon in 1984. She was the second woman to be ordained a priest in the

(ACK) in 1986. In February 2018, she was appointed a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

in Bondo Diocese. Onyango has taught at St John's School of Theology in Kokise and was lecturer, academic dean and Vice Principal at St Andrews College in Kabare. She is a lecturer in church history and theology at St Paul's University in

. Onyango was Dean of Students at St Paul's from 2000 to 2002. She is the chair of The Africa Centre for Biblical Equity, a Langham scholar and a founder of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. She has written several articles and books on the history of theological education and women's education in Kenya.

Election as Bishop

Onyango was appointed assistant bishop of Bondo during the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of the Diocese of Bondo,

Siaya County Siaya County is one of the counties in the former Nyanza Province in western Kenya. It is bordered by Busia County to the north, Kakamega County, and Vihiga County to the northeast and Kisumu County to the southeast. It shares a water border ...

in January 2021. She is the first woman to hold the position of bishop in the ACK, after approval of a proposal to allow women to become bishops in 2013, the first female Anglican bishop in east and central Africa, and the fourth on the African continent. She will work with David Kodiah in training clergy, as well as initiatives focused on ending

gender based violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence (GBV) refers to any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification, culture may have a role to play, being lower in egalitarianism societies and higher, sexist ( ...

and encouraging child empowerment. Speaking after her appointment, she said, "I am thankful to be asked to participate in a well-structured pastoral ministry focusing on marriage, family and gender issues, including empowerment of widows. I particularly expect us to offer hope for those shackled by gender-based violence." Her appointment was challenged by six lay members of the synod, who argued Bishop Kodia had cajoled the synod into affirming her appointment and that the diocese was unable to afford an assistant bishop. A 2014 informal agreement of

GAFCON The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a communion of conservative Anglicanism, Anglican churches, aligned with the Confessing Movement, that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in th ...

put a moratorium on the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

in certain provinces, however the Kenyan General Synod affirmed its support for women bishops in September 2019.

Personal life

Onyango is married to Apollo Onyango, a retired school teacher, and they have two adult children.

Publications

Books

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Articles

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oyango, Emily Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Wales 21st-century Anglican bishops of the Anglican Church of Kenya Anglican bishops of Bondo Women Anglican bishops Kenyan women writers Kenyan historians